For over 11,000 people in Scotland, living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a daily reality.

MS is an unpredictable and incurable condition that affects people’s nervous systems.

It can attack suddenly or progress steadily, bringing a range of symptoms which can include sight loss, incontinence, fatigue and mobility problems. No-one with MS can be sure when or how it will affect them next.

With devolved health and social care, and even more powers to come, Scotland is in a strong position to lead the way in MS provision.

In recent years we have seen real progress in terms of helping people self-manage their condition, allowing people to maintain their independence for longer. We are also seeing an increased understanding of MS in the health service helped in part by having MS specialist nurses.

Niall Sommerville

However, there is still so much that can be done. It is essential that people living with MS have access to the right support at the right time, regardless of where in Scotland they live. Unfortunately, we know at the moment that this is far from the reality. Differences in provision of care and support have led to a postcode lottery in Scotland meaning that people miss out on the care and support they need to manage their condition.

In order to tackle this we need to see more consistent levels of care across of Scotland. Part of this should be done through providing more care within a community setting. We are still seeing people having to travel long distances to access care and support and this in itself can exacerbate a person’s MS.

If this care was available more locally it would help someone live a more independent life. For rural population’s advances in e-health, such as using video calls for appointments, and the use of travelling clinics could help to tackle some of these inequalities.

We also know that in order for services to be effective there needs to be input from service users. That is why we want to see people with MS to have a greater say in the way services are designed and delivered. This should help create a more responsive health service which better meets the needs of service users.

Finally, the devolution of aspects of welfare spending to Holyrood provides a unique opportunity to create a fairer social security system in Scotland. Around 80% of people with MS have to stop working within 15 years of diagnosis, this means as time goes on they have to rely more heavily on disability benefits. At present 91% of people living with MS in Scotland say they found the process of claiming disability benefits stressful.

(Photo: Facebook)

Coupled with this nearly 1 in 3 didn’t claim the benefits they are entitled to due to the public stigma. The welfare system should be there to support people when they need it, not create even more stress and anxiety at a difficult time.

We are encouraged by the commitments made by the Scottish Government so far on creating a new Scottish social security system and we will continue to keep the pressure on them to use new powers to create an empowering and fairer Scotland for people living with MS.

These are not dramatic changes by any means, small things can make a big difference. The theme of this years World MS Day is ‘independence’, these changes can help people with MS maintain greater independence in their lives. These are the messages that we will be taking to our new MSPs and the Scottish Government alike.